Dec/Jan News
Madison is having a mid-winter crisis, experimenting with near 50s today. I’m watching the recent rain and warm temperatures reset the lake ice, smoothing the surface, and promising a return to outdoor activities in the cold months still ahead.
Before it froze, we had a Who concert of tundra swans roll into town on their way from the Arctic to their winter grounds in the mid-Atlantic coast. It was the largest migration in recent years.
Over the holidays I read Charles Portis’ entertaining satire Gringos and the first of the Solvej Balle’s series On the Calculation of Volume, about a woman who wakes up to find herself repeating the same day. Back home, I’ve returned to Pacific Crucible, the first of Ian Toll’s WWII trilogy, which is quite good so far but too big to take on vacation.
Two old friends have been up to inspiring work:
Thomas Goetz has launched Drug Story, a new podcast about the disease business, one drug at a time. 100% independent, DIY production that cleverly draws on history, biology, economics, and medicine. Don’t miss this…Thomas has an unfair gift for storytelling and the quality of his work is intimidating.
Jaspal Sandhu has been named CEO of HopeLabs, succeeding the legendary Margaret Laws
Two major announcements / experiments in the world of science policy worth checking out:
The National Science Foundation announced Tech Labs, a $1 billion, 5-year initiative to fund large-scale, long-term scientific teams working outside traditional university structures
Bipartisan legislation has been introduced to bring a similar model, called X-Labs, to NIH
The Institute for Progress has the story on funding beyond the universities in their latest newsletter
Less ambitiously…my home office is an actual bomb shelter built in 1962, complete with thick concrete walls and a big steel door. It’s jammed full of books, drums, workout gear and wingfoiling equipment. This post on garage studios has me angling to spruce it up and turn it into a better creative space this year.
